The First Ones
by zeGuy
Summary: (Crossover with Dishonored) After surviving the fall of Wall Maria, Connor Miller is chosen to bear the Outsider's Mark. He enters the military, hoping to join the Survey Corps to put his powers to the test. Along the way, he makes friends, enemies and finds himself at the center of the war between humanity and Titans. Slight AU and slight Riverta
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! After finishing Shingeki no Kojin (the anime I mean) I was like: 'That was awesome, definitely my favorite anime so far.' So I decided to do a crossover between the two things I like: Shingeki no Kojin and Dishonored. I've always wanted to do a crossover with Dishonored (at first I wanted to do it with American Mcgee's Alice) and Shingeki no Kojin, who captivated me like no other anime after Elfen Lied and Naruto. I'm putting this in the regular section so that I can get an idea what people think about it, then I'll the proper action (and please no flames).**

**I don't own Dishonored or Shingeki no Kojin**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_At first they thought it was an eclipse, however they were wrong. They saw a Titan, a _real _Titan, who was bigger than Wall Maria! They've watched in curiosity, instead of running like their parents taught them to. _

"_Connor, we've got to go," said Miranda Miller to her brother._

_The boy snapped out of his daze and took off, followed by his sister, navigating through the frantic crowd to find their the Titan plunged its leg through the wall, sending the debris pluming into the city,The people started to scream and run chaotically, but all that noise was muffed by the beating of their hearts in their ears as they ran automatically. Connor spotted out of his corner of his eye a little boy crying and being taught by his parents to do the right thing he went to him. He tried to convince the boy to move, but he wouldn't make a single step without his mother. Just as he was about to grab the boy and took off, Miranda called his name and before he knew it he was pushed back by her. When he got up he saw a huge boulder where his sister and the little boy stood, blood could be seen near its base. When realization hit him, his eyes almost popped out and he let out a pain filled scream. Connor tried in vain to move the boulder for a few minutes before falling to his knees staring into space._

'_My sister is dead,' was the thought that repeated in his head along with her death scene. He heard his name being called distantly, but he gave no thought to it. The only thing that matter is that his sister was no more and it was his entire fault. 'My fault…If I had been selfish…If I could ignore…If I had been heartless…'_

"_Connor!" yelled a man who tugged on the boy's clothes. He appeared to be in the mid thirties with chestnut hair similar to his own. "Connor, we have to go, now! Your mother is already on the boat."_

"_Dad…Miranda…" said the traumatized ten- year old, pointing at the boulder with a shaking hand._

_His father caught on with what his son tried to tell him. He stared at the boulder wide eyed and dropped jaw then he clenched the fabric on the boy's shirt, gritted his teeth and shut his eyes in vain so that he could keep the tears from falling. An explosion brought back his soldier instincts and with a heavy heart he grabbed his son and rushed towards the boat. _

"_Connor, I'm going to need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?" his father asked, being on the verge of tears, and his son wordlessly nodded. "From now on you're going to take care of your mother. I know you can do it son," he said and looked at his wife who was trying to hold back the sobs, but failed miserable._

"_Why are you leaving?" asked Connor in a quiet voice so that only his father and mother could hear._

"_Because I have a duty as a soldier: to protect the innocents. I know I'm the worst father ever for doing this, but I couldn't live with myself if I don't stay and help the others. I'm so sorry, Connor…" he said and started crying while holding his only remaining child close, his wife also gave into the tears as she hugged them both. "I'm sorry for not being strong enough to save Miranda, I'm sorry for letting both of you like this."_

"_Hey, Miller! Get your ass here!" barked a soldier._

_With an unnatural strength, the older Miller managed to break the hug and after kissing his family for the last time he went to join his squad._

"_Dad, don't go!" screamed the boy who was being held by his mother so that he wouldn't go after his father. "Dad, please don't go! DAD!"_

"_Give it to us, you bitch!" yelled a man who was trying to grab the bread out of a woman's grasp._

"_No! This is for me and my child!" cried the woman determined to hold it as if her dear life was depending on it._

"_Mom!" cried Connor. "Leave her alone, you bully!" he yelled and charged at the man_

_Sadly, the man wasn't alone. His partner saw the boy coming and slapped him with the back of his hand, making the child lose his balance and fall. Fed up by his companion's incompetence and the woman's persistence, he pulled a knife from his pocket and plunged it in woman's abdomen._

"_What the fuck man?!" cried the killer's companion_

"_Shut up and grabbed the food!" he ordered_

"_What about the kid?"_

"_He will starve to death, so there's no reason to waste time killing him too, now come on let's bug before the coppers come!"_

_Connor crawled his way towards his mother and looked at her face._

"_Don't be afraid…" she said, seeing the fear and despair on her child's face. "I want you to promise me… that you won't give up on life…promise me…"_

"_I promise you, mom," sobbed the child. "Mom?" he asked and looked in her eyes. Her green eyes that he inherited from her were now staring back at him empty, void of the usual warmth and affection. Connor sobbed into her chest until he became unconscious._

* * *

Sixteen-year old Connor woke up in cold sweat. He felt how his dinner was about to come out and rushed out of the cabin.

"Connor, you're okay man?" asked Connie

"That's a stupid question, Connie. The dude is poking his guts out, of course he isn't okay," said Jean while rubbing his left eye

"Guys, this is not the time to argue. We've got to get him to the infirmary," Marco told them.

"No," the boy spoke, weakly, calming himself. "It's nothing serious…"

"Are you sure, Connor?" asked Marco concerned about his comrade.

"Yeah," he replied as he stood up straight and put on his boots. "I'm going for a walk," he declared

"What?!" exclaimed Jean. "We're forbidden to leave our cabins after lights out!"

Connor turned his head at him and with an arrogant smirk plastered on his face he said: "I'm out of fucks to give," then he continued his walk

"I'm telling you, one of these days that guy is going to get into some deep shit and drag everyone around him in it," said Jean to Connie and Marco, then he returned inside the cabin while the other two watched how their fellow trainee got further away.

Connor walked around the camp and stopped near a cabin. He looked around to make sure no one had followed him and clenched his left fist, a green light emanating from it, while pointing it at the structure's roof and in a flash he was on it. He signed and took a cigarette from his pocked before sitting down. He inspected his left hand and even thought it was covered by a glove, the image of his tattoo was imprinted on his mind just like it was on his hand.

The mark of the Outsider. Ever since he received it his life got better. He was faster, stronger, more agile than before, plus he could possess animals, Titans and humans (though he need to practice more to fully possess a human), teleport around space (he discovered that if he had the mental image of the place he wanted to go in his mind he only needs to concentrate and he'll be there), summon rats, see through walls and the sound waves emitted by something or someone and sent people and objects flying with an incredible force.

He will never forget how he got it.

* * *

_Connor woke up in the same alley where the tragedy happened, but something was amiss: his mother's corpse was nowhere to be found and it was unusually quiet. Hoping to find some answers he navigated through alleys in order to find the market, but when he got there instead of seeing how the shopkeepers where closing their stores and going home, or the Military Police patrolling the streets, accepting bribes from the corrupt merchants he saw emptiness, like the market was ripped off by something or someone and in its place remained only the abyss. 'What is going on?' Small chunks land hovering in mid air appeared in front of the boy, allowing him to jump on them, guiding him to the huge floating island. To say he was horrified by what he saw on that island was an understatement. The boy's eyes almost popped out, he was shaking as if something possessed him and he felt the urge to vomit. The island was composed of two parts: the first one represented the Shinganshina District where the bolder that crushed his sister and his father's head, holding a look of pure terror, and the second one was the Trost District where his mother's corps lay. Connor backed away in fear and he would have fallen of the floating island if it weren't for some mysterious force that surrounded it. From above a letter slowly descended in Connor's shaking hands. It read: YOU CANNOT SAVE THEM, BUT YOU CAN AVENGE THEM!_

_The 10-year-old dropped the latter and fell to his knees and screamed while holding his head for what appears to be, from the child's point of view, an eternity._

"_Hello, Connor," said a male that appeared out of nowhere in front of the said traumatized child_._ He wore a brown coat, blue pants and black boots and he had short brown hair. Besides the mellow that stopped him from shaking, Connor also found his completely black eyes disturbing._

"_Who are you?"_

_The man smiled, sending chills down the boy's spine. "I am the Outsider and I have chosen you to bear my mark."_

_As soon as those words left his mouth, Connor's left hand began to itch and a strange tattoo has been engraved on the back of his hand._

"_There are forces in the universe who men address them as magic. With this, these forces will bend to your will. Note, however, that there are limits to what you can do, as you will, no doubt, discover later. Consider this my gift to you, feel free to use it as you please."_

"_Why are you helping me?" asked the green eyed boy, looking straight into the deity's black ones._

_The Outsider smirked. "Because I found you interesting. From this place I can see every tomorrow of every living being, and all possible choices they could make. You had two options: either surrender to death, or get stronger and survive. And by choosing to survive many different choices are now available to you. Even without my help, you would have created a big impact on people's lives, but you wouldn't have lived to see it, therefore here you are. A chain of events had been triggered and you'll play an important role in the years that will follow and I wonder: will you stop it or accelerate it? Nevertheless, you must be strong, so seek the runes bearing my mark in your world and the bone charms. Use the gift I gave you to found them, but I'm warning you there aren't many who know about me so they are very scares. Now I'll return you to your world, but know that I'll be watching you with great interest."_

_Connor observed from his hiding place the men who murdered his mother. They were warming themselves at the camp fire while eating the bread and potatoes they stole from other unfortunate refugees while laughing and telling jokes, like a few hours ago they hadn't murdered a woman in cold blood and left her child to starve to death. 'How dare they?! They took away the only family I've got left and they sit around the fire joking and eating! I'll turn their laughs into screams!'_

_The boy stepped out of the shadows and approached the two men, letting his presence known. They've recognized him immediately. "What do you want kid?" asked the killer's companion_

_Connor looked at them, his eyes screaming for bloodshed, and said in a low menacing voice. "You. Dead."_

_The men were stunned for a few moments before they began laughing. "_You, _kill_ us_?" asked the killer incredulously. "When I'm done with you, you're going to wish you had become Titan food," he said, grabbing his knife, walking towards the boy._

_Connor, however, wasn't afraid in fact he was very calm. A dark aura enveloped his left arm, startling the muggers. When he raised his hand a horde of ravenous rats appeared from the shadows, attaching the duo. He watched how the men who took away his mother screamed in anguish and horror, begging for their lives as they were devoured slowly. Strangely enough, the 10-year-old only watched calmly as two awful people were sent howling to the Void not feeling an ounce of pity or remorse. His lips twitched upwards and the anger left, giving way to satisfaction._

* * *

Connor shook his head at the memory. It was not healthy for him to remember such things. 'Then again, neither is smoking.'

Trying to cheer himself up he thought about how he acquired the packet of cigars. He found the camp's supplier looking piping on the girls in the changing room. A smirk formed on the boy's face when he remembered the supplier's expression when he caught him. His excuse was even funnier. 'A lock that resembled a snowflake? Yeah, right.'

"You're not allowed outside your cabin after curfew," said a monotone voice behind him, startling him. Masking his surprise he turned and came face to face with Mikasa. 'Shit, I forgot she was on patrol tonight.' "Also, I see that you've smuggled in unauthorized substances," she continued pointing to the cigar in his hand. "I'm afraid I have to report you."

Connors mentally slapped himself for being careless, if only he had paid attention to his surroundings he would have heard the girl coming and avoid all this. 'If Levi saw me now he would have made me scrub every inch of Survey Corps HQ with my toothbrush.' "Maybe I can offer you a deal?" he said hopeful.

"You have nothing that you could offer me!" she declared hotly

"Are you sure?" he was tempted to try to possess her, but he didn't practice that skill on humans yet. "Come on, you sure you don't want to try one?" he asked shaking his pack in front of her.

"No, now move to the trainer's office!"

"Come on, Ackerman! Don't be so stiff, live a little. I can guarantee you that only high ranking officers in the military and nobles have access to these. Aren't you curious to see how they taste?" he said, putting his most charming smile he could muster.

However Mikasa wasn't impressed. "I'm not interested in noble crap. I'm giving one last warning before I apply force."

Contempt with his fate, he put out the cigar and gave her the pack. Seizing his arm roughly, she quickly cuffed him. "Is that necessary?" he complained, but the ebony haired teen paid no heed.

* * *

Connor's punishment was to wash all the dishes after dinner until graduation, additionally that night he had to do five hundred laps around the camp before dawn. The boy kept his face blank, but he bit the inside of his cheek in frustration at the ridiculous punishment. The following day all regiment was scheduled for a run through the woods. Needless to say, he barely could keep up. If it weren't for the Mark he would have passed out from exhaustion. 'I'm going to make that bitch pay!' He took out his anger at hand-to-hand combat practice. As usual he would spar with Connie, Jean and Marco at once. At first all trainees were surprised to see him taking on the three of them, even Keith Shadis raised an eyebrow at this, but the regiment got used to it. The chestnut haired teen ducked under Jean's fist and punched the boy in the gut, making him bend in pain. He jumped over him and with a sweep kick the green eyed boy knocked the blond haired boy off his feet and threw him at the brunette one. 'Levi was right, this is great stress relief.'

"Slow down, Connor or you'll kill us!" exclaimed Connie as he held his hand in front of the body as a lame attempt to calm the obviously angered teen.

Connor signed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, guess I'm just a little upset."

"About the fact that you were busted?" asked Marco as he got up and Connor nodded.

"Man, you deserved it. You knew the rules and yet you choose to ignore them," said Jean smugly, even though he could barely stand

The sixteen-year-old boy narrowed his eyes and the brown-eyed one. "Jean, I know you like her, but if you say something like that again I'll rearrange your face," he said venomously, making Jean gulp in fear.

"Hey, look over there," said Marco, trying to distract Connor's attention from Jean, by pointing at Annie, Eren and Reiner. Eren charged at her and within seconds he is on the ground in an awkward position, followed shortly by Reiner.

Jean chuckled. "I'll never stop to enjoy seeing that guy trashed around."

A smirked appeared on Connor's face as he figured out the best way to have revenge on Mikasa. "Marco, can you bring me my blindfold, it's on my bed. And please hurry."

"Sure," the boy responded, not liking the look on his friend's face but complied nonetheless.

"Jean, you're going to enjoy this, come," the Outsider's chosen one said, motioning the other boy to follow him.

"Well, lookie here," he said as he approached Eren and Reiner, wearing a smug smile on his face. "If there aren't Idiot number one and Idiot number two getting their asses handed to them, nothing new really."

"What do you want Miller?" asked Reiner crossly

"Just observing the idiots in their own environment. Then I got bored of watching and decided that I wanted to have some fun," he replied, his smile never flattering

"Connor, here," said Marco as he brought the blindfold.

"Thanks," he said and then louder: "Attention everyone! Attention!" he yelled and everyone stopped what they were doing. "Thank you for giving me a bit of your time. I'm going to present you now the humiliation of Eren Yeager and the guy- whose- name- I -don't- care- to- know, but first I will need the assistance of someone from the audience. You there," he said, pointing to Mina. "Come closer, please." The girl did what she had been told with reluctance. "I want to put this blindfold on and tell me if you see anything with it."

"No, I can't see a thing," she said

"Are you sure?" question Connor while waving his hand in front of her face

"Yes."

"Very well. Ladies and Gentlemen as you can see I'm not going to cheat, so watch closely how I'm going to beat Yeager and whoever his name his blindfolded." It was a lie, of course. Seeing through the cloth was an impossible feat for a human being and relying on his hearing would stupid, so he used the gift he received. If Petra and Levi found out about this he would surely be punished after being scowled that he was abusing his power, so he decided that what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. 'He said I could use it however I damn want to.' He activated his Void Gaze and he could see his opponents looking at each other unsure of what to do and Connor decided to help them. "You're from Wall Maria, right?" he asked. He was lucky that the trainer hadn't talked to him during the first day, making it easy to lie where he was from. He told his roommates that he was from Myrkur, a village north of Trost, because he didn't want to be harassed by their questions about that dark day. He didn't want to remember it and when Yeager started telling them about it he started to dislike the dark brown haired teen. He remembered how he spoke about it, like he was telling a child a fairytale and most of the recruits around his table wanting to hear more. 'Don't they realize that people lost their lives that they? And Yeager of all people should know what loss is!' It got to a point where he just couldn't take it anymore and left the cantina. That is why he is going to enjoy every second of this fight. "I bet you sit just as slack-jawed as you are now," he said, watching how their faces turn into a scowl. 'A low blow, but necessary.' "Tell me Yeager: how are going to kill the Titans if you can't even beat me with a blindfold on." That made Eren lunged at Connor with Reiner backing him up. The branded one blocked and dodged their attack with ease as the regiment stared awe struck at his display. After blocking Reiner's punch, he kicked the blond boy in the gut, making him take a few steps back. He spun quickly to catch Eren's stretched hand and twisted behind his back and elbowed him in the lower back, earning him a painful grasp from the teen before he fell down. Angered, Reiner charged at Connor, thinking his strength could help him win, but the whole regiment watched in amazement as the fifteen year old boy managed to lift up in the air someone was almost twice as large as he and slammed him on the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted small sound waves. 'Finally, she decided to join in the fun,' he thought with a smirk. He had to give her credits he almost didn't pick up the sounds, but in the end he had won. He waited until he was certain she was behind him, he spat out a few curses at his fallen opponents so that she wouldn't figure out that he could hear her. When he heard her muscles flex, he turned quickly and kicked her in the gut, sending her tumbling on the ground, sound waves and dust particles flashing wildly before his eyes, and he was stunned to see that the person he had hit wasn't Mikasa but Bertold. Sound waves appeared from his left side and he spun just in time to see the Asian girl jumped forward, grabbing his head with her legs and threw him like a ragdoll across the ground, breaking his Void Gaze, blinding him. Dizziness settled in as he tried to get up, however Connor felt some weight on his chest that pushed him down and then he felt how pressure was applied to his throat in such a way that he was unable to fill his lungs with sufficient oxygen.

"Not so smug now, huh?" said Mikasa in her low voice. "Who the hell do you think you are, acting superior to everyone? You might be good, there's no denying it, but in the end you're nothing more than a human being and humans can be killed," she said, pressing a bit harder on Connor's throat, making him gasp in pain. "If you touch Eren again, I'll kill you, slowly," she told him menacingly, before releasing him and storming off with Armin and Eren behind her.

* * *

After dinner, Connor washed the dishes while he thought about today's events. Jean hadn't said a word to him, settling instead with glaring and Marco gently scolded him for getting into a needless fight. But what truly bothered him was that Mikasa was the only person, up until now, that had been able to not only escape his wrath, but also counter it masterfully. He remembered the day his roommates thought it was funny to put inside his mattress rocks (Marco was convinced that it was nothing more than an innocent little prank). After a tiresome day, he wanted nothing more but to rest and when he jumped in his bed, he felt like his entire spine shatter. Despite the fact that they apologized profoundly, he would have none of it and promised them revenge. That is why he filled their 3DMG's capsules with vanilla cream and he made sure that they would explode, so that the cream would cover those around them, mainly the instructor. The trio vowed to never prank Connor again. The thought that he was bested by a human being not only in battle, but in wits also, caused the chestnut haired boy a considerable amount of distress. He was chosen out of all people in the world to bear the powers of a deity, which would usually mean that he was better than the rest, that no mere human could best him. 'True, she's not an average person, but the point remains: she shouldn't have been able to beat me, even thought I wasn't truly fighting.' The sound of a door opening pulled him out of his thoughts. Connor remember that besides him there was always someone else to help him with the cleaning since his CO realized that one person couldn't do all the chores alone. 'Oh, please let it be Krista.' However instead of seeing the blue eyed gaze he was greeted by a dark eyed one. 'Fuck my life!' Mikasa moved to clean the dishes with Connor beside her, who glared at her from time to time, not saying a single word for almost an hour and then she asked: "You're from the Shiganshina District, aren't you?"

Connor's entire being froze in shock. "No, I'm from Myrkur," he responded after a few seconds, but he knew it was futile to lie anymore.

"No, you're not from there. Even if you're not from Shiganshina, surely you must be from another region in Wall Maria. How do I know this? I saw you a few years ago in the refugee's sector in Trost with a woman. You're mother I take it?"

The teen clenched the dish in his hands in frustration, almost breaking it. Once again she brought him to his knees. Then it came to him: so what? So what that he lied from where he was from? It's not like he hadn't an excuse for lying: he didn't want to relieve the horrors he experienced or be harassed by others.

"I understand why you did it: you don't want to remember what had happened that day. Eren and Armin know about it as well, and they both respect your decision. Surely you know that the others respect you as well even if you lied to them. They'll understand," she told him understandingly

The green eyed boy eyed her curiously. "What are you up to Ackerman? Surely you don't care about me, do you?"

"I'm trying to show you that there's no reason for us to fight. We both share a common goal."

"What goal is that?"

"To kill all Titans."

Connor smirked. "I think that's Eren's goal, not yours. I think yours is to protect him, and be by his side as his lover."

"No," she said, shaking her head, but he could see the faint blush that painted her cheeks thanks to her pale complexion.

"Yeager put you up to this didn't he? Is he trying to be my friend or something?"

"Yes. He asked me to talk to you since we're both on chores duty tonight. He said that I should apologize for what I did to you today."

"Are you going to?" he asked curiously

"Only if you do it first," she replied after a moment of silence

"What?" he said incredulously. "You started it when you threw me in CO's office."

The ebony haired girl wanted to say how childish he sounded, but decided against it. "You were breaking the rules," she replied bluntly.

"And you just _couldn't _ignore it?"

"If I did _I_ could have gotten in trouble."

"How?" he asked irritated. "How could have gotten in trouble?"

"For example if the trainer would have been walking around camp, there was a chance he might have caught you on the roof like I have."

The boy's lips were pressed in a firm line, he knew she was right. The CO could have spotted him on the cabin's rooftop easily if he hadn't stayed in the office. He cursed himself once more for being distracted, thinking if he had been more aware of his surroundings he could have avoided the whole thing. 'But she could have warned me about it. She could have told me to get rid of the pack, or take it from me as a payment for not ratting me out and send me to my cabin, but instead she decided to haul my ass to the devil's den.'

"That's an interesting tattoo you have," she said.

Connor looked confused at first, but then he remembered that he took off his gloves in order to wash the dishes and the Outsider's Mark was visible.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"How did you get it?"

"I thought I needed something to make me look fierce while I was living on the streets, so I sought out someone who was willing to do it for a few coins," he lied smoothly.

"What did your mother think about it?"

A lump formed inside of his throat and he had to swallow twice in order to clear it. "She was murdered before I got it."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

He nodded and a solemn silence settled between them. "I lost my parents too," she began again. "Not to Titans but to humans. They were killed in front of my eyes. Eren came to rescue me and we were forced to kill the kidnappers."

"I also killed my mother's murderers and I enjoyed it, every single second of it," he said and stared ahead, memories flashing before his eyes, Mikasa watching him closely. "Did you derive pleasure from it, when you killed your parent's killers? What about Yeager?"

"No. I felt only rage and I think Eren did too."

Connor chuckled. "I guess I have serious problems then," he said more to himself than his teammate and the black eyed girl didn't respond.

The pair continued their work and when they were done they closed the kitchen. Connor was about to go to bed, but a hand tugged his left arm.

"Listen. I'm sorry about that night," said Mikasa looking embarrassed, surprising the green eyed teen. "I thought about it and I realized that I could have forced you to throw your pack and lighter and sent you to your cabin, but instead I threw you right in the Titan's opened mouth."

Connor signed and ran a hand through his hair. He didn't have the guts to throw her apology in her face after the talked they shared. Frankly he didn't know what was he thinking when he opened up to her. 'I wasn't thinking,' he concluded. 'But it sure felt good to say it out loud.' After he confessed to his foster family, he felt how the weight on his chest was lifted. All emotions that were bottled up were released immediately after he finished telling them and at last he was free.

"We aren't so different, you and I," she continued. "I wish that we could start all over, if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, it is. I'm sorry to, you know? For what I did to Yeager. Though I would like to keep what we talked about only between us."

They shook hands and bid goodnight to each other. Feeling confident, Mikasa turned and said. "No puffing, got it?"

Connor just waved his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin or Dishonored**

**I know it's been a long time since I've been active and even an longer time since I started this fic, but I haven't abandoned it or Fanfiction.**

* * *

Connor woke up in a good mood today, thanks to a good-night sleep. Instead of a nightmare this time he dreamed about the first Christmas with Levi's squad.

* * *

_Connor looked out the window, watching how the snow fell gently from the sky covering the world in a white cloak. This made the boy nostalgic, making him think of another life where he would go out and play in the snow with his sister without a care in the world. Now he was all alone, his second family going home to spend the holiday with their loved ones. 'I shouldn't think like that' he thought 'Just because I've lost my family they shouldn't share my pain. I'm being a selfish bastard' He quickly got dressed and before heading down he prayed that Levi wouldn't make him train or, worse, clean. As he went down he felt a very pleasant smell that confused him since Levi wasn't known for his cooking skills, but when he opened the door all members of the Special Operations Squad were present. They greeted him cheerfully and he responded with an awkward hello._

_"I thought you guys went home," he said_

_"No, we're leaving tomorrow. The first day of every holyday we spent it together, it's a tradition to us, you know?" said Oluo_

_They sat and ate Petra's fresh baked cookies, enjoying each other's company, Connor noted that even Levi looked a bit relaxed. Then it was time to share gifts and to his shame, Conner had nothing to give them, his plan was to go into the city after they left and buy the presents. They said it was alright, but that didn't help ease his discomfort. Petra gave him a clock to put in his room, Eld bought him a pair of boots, Gunther got him a cloak and Olou gave him a soap, making a joke about smells and as a 'thank you' Connor showed his middle finger._

_Levi excused himself to grab Connor's present and after a few minutes he returned. "Here, brat. Merry Christmas," said the raven-haired man and tossed to the chestnut-haired boy his gift._

_Connor stared at it wide-eyed. "How did you get this?" he asked while waving the Rune in his hand._

_"I've beat up some homeless person then I hid it in the basement, how do you think brat? From the market," replied Levi with fake annoyance_

_Getting the hidden meaning in his words, Connor nodded and thanked him, then he excused himself to go hide the present so that it wouldn't affect the others. When he returned the others still exchanged presents, making jokes at each other's expenses and then they started to make the Christmas tree. Oluo got his hands mistletoe and started to wave it around. He got Petra under it and after quick punch to the shoulder she gave him a kiss on the check, then he went to Gunther and Eld which result in him being thrown outside of the HQ, face-first in the snow. Seeing them like this woke some memories in Conner. His Christmas with his family was exactly like this: eating cookies, having fun and making the tree together. His father would hold both him and his sister as they put the star on top._

_"Conner, are you crying?" asked a concerned Petra_

_He smiled and wiped his tears. "No, it's just this place is too dusty."_

_"I'll pretend I didn't hear that brat," growled Levi behind him, making the hairs on the back of the boy's head stand up._

_"Hey Conner, put the star on top," said Eld_

_With the blond man's help Conner managed to put the star and everyone, except Levi, started to cheer and they shouted together: "Merry Christmas, Conner!"_

* * *

Putting on his black turtleneck he got for his birthday he was walking through the city to meet Joseph, the guy who supplies him with cigarettes, saying that he has something to show him. As he walked he couldn't help hear the songs of some Runes and Bone Charms. He wanted nothing more than to get his hands on them, but he couldn't do it in midday, so he kept walking until he saw a crowd gathering. Curious he went to see what it was about and saw that the Survey Corps were making another expedition beyond the Walls. He made his way towards the crowd so that he could be spotted easily by Squad Levi and Hanji. When Hanji spotted him she yelled out his name and he couldn't help but gave a small roll of his eyes. 'Count on her to be subtle.' He waved at her nonetheless and at the members of the Special Operation Squad and everyone, except Levi who glared at him, returned the gesture. As soon as they left he went to Joseph's house. If there is a thing that Connor liked about Joseph is that he is very direct, no pleasantries. When he entered the house he saw lots of blue prints scattered around. He looked at some of them and realised that they were meant to improve the 3DMG, but what really got his attention was a pistol buried under some papers. Levi thought him a lot of things, but using a gun was not one of them.

"I have called you here because I have a business proposition. I can upgrade your gear for free and you could arrange a business meeting with Commander Erwin so that I can convince him to let me be the Corps supplier."

Connor took a moment to consider his request. "Alright. We have a deal."

Joseph beamed. "Excellent! Now, if you like I can start upgrading your gear now."

"Sure," he said and left the gear on a table.

"Here," the older man said and tossed at the boy a pack of cigarettes.

"Thanks Joseph!"

* * *

"What? You want to enlist in the Survey Corps, Connie?" asked an incredulous Eren while cleaning a HE cannon.

"What happened to the Military Police? You talked about it even since we met," said Connor

"Yeah, I know. But…"

"Seems like he was listening to your lecture yesterday," said Mina coming from behind the three boys

"Shut up!" said Connie, blushing. "This is my own decision."

"Don't be shy about it," Thomas told him. "You're not the only one."

"Thomas? Are you sure about it?" asked Eren

"Uhm, guys," called Sasha. "I've burrowed some meat from the officers' morning rations," said the food lover revealing her find to the other Trainees, making their hearts skipped a beat

"Sasha, what the fuck?!"

"Sasha…"

"You _want_ to get solitary confinement?!"

"You're a real idiot!"

"Real idiocy's scary…"

However, Sasha paid them no heed. "Let's all split it up together later," she told them, imagining the taste which brought out saliva from the corner of her mouth. "We'll slice it up and eat it with bread!"

"Bring it!"

"Yeah!"

"Meat is a luxury now that we've lost so much land!"

"Don't worry about it. Once we retake the land we can raise pigs and cows again."

Connor scowled. 'She makes it sound so easy. They all think that they are the invincible heroes from the childhood stories. They have no idea in what they are getting themselves into.'

"Hey, Connor! Do you want some meat?" asked Sasha.

Normally he would take it gladly, but now he was a little pissed at their foolishness. "No," he said, his voice sounding more like a growl which made his fellow trainee surprised at his rashness.

"Are you okay Connor? You look like someone just twisted your panties," said Connie in an attempt to lighten up the mood, but all he got instead was a hard glare from the chestnut haired teen.

"I'm fine. I'm going to grab my gear, see you later," he told them without looking at them and started to walk.

However, after five steps he stopped abruptly when a massive shadow appeared over him. Looking up, his blood turned to ice, he came face to face with the Colossal Titan. 'It can't be…' Before he could even yell a strong wind blew him off the Wall and sent him pummelling down on the ground. As he fell he thought when it'll be a good time to use his powers to save himself.

"I'm coming Connor!" yelled Sasha and he made a note to buy her dinner when the day was done.

After Sasha stopped his fall he tracked her line of sight and saw to his complete horror that the gate was broken. "Ready the artillery! Four groups! Prepare for battle!" yelled Yeager at the top of his lungs.

"Yeager, wait!" called Connor, but it was to no avail.

* * *

Despite the fact that there was already a plan in case the gate was breached it changed little. 'It's like five years ago.' thought Connor angrily. At the moment he watched how his comrades prepared for the upcoming battle and he waited for Joseph to show up with his gear.

"We're fucked! So fucked!" said Jean frenetically and when his eyes landed on the emerald green eyed teen he bellowed. "How can you be so call?!"

"I'm not calm, I'm bored," answered the boy

"You're **BORED**?!" shrieked the blond boy. "You're bored and I'm about to have a heart attack!"

"Why is that?" he asked only to get a rise out of the taller boy

He succeeded. "What the fuck is with that question?! We're about to fight those monster!"

Connor looked at his friend and saw the terror in his eyes. It was another advantage that those man-eating monstrosities have: they inspire fear. 'Another advantage for these fucks.'

"Fear won't help."

"Then please, do tell me, what would help me?"

"This," answered the chestnut-haired teen pointing at his head. "Use it to survive, be cynical if you have to."

Before Jean could reply, Connor left and wondered aimlessly around the HQ, hoping he won't run into any Garrison troops.

"Connor!" someone yelled and the teen looked to his right and saw Joseph jugging.

"About time," he commented

"Give me a break. Do you have any idea how hard is to get here through a desperate crowd while soldiers are trying to sent you away. My toes hurt from being stepped on."

"Alright, alright. What did you do?" he asked while putting his gear on.

"The blades are more resistant, the tanks can hold 15 more percent gas and I gave it a boost in speed," he replied with pride.

"Nice!"

"If you don't require anything else I must now run for my life."

"Be careful."

"You too."

With that he went to look for his teammates when Mikasa crossed his path.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"I have a favour to ask of you."

He raised a chestnut eyebrow at her. "A favour?"

"Yes. I know that Eren is in your squad, I want you to protect him. I'll repay you somehow, I swear."

Connor smirked. "He doesn't need a babysitter, he can take care of himself. Did you know that he attacked the Colossal Titan head on all alone?"

"I don't doubt his abilities, I'm just...worried. He tends to let emotions cloud his judgement." she said softly.

"Alright, I'll protect him. I promise"

"Thank you," Mikasa whispered

"You're welcome," he told her with a smile

* * *

Connor took a deep breath from his cigarette and watched the smoke rise lazily. For the moment his team was waiting for the signal and he decided that a smoke to calm himself wouldn't hurt. He briefly listen to his teammates chatting, but paid no real mind to it. When the go was given he threw his cigarette and followed Eren, who charged first and he mentally cursed him for it. All of a sudden somebody yelled that an Abnormal was coming at them and he swiftly avoided the huge humanoid. However, Thomas wasn't as lucky as he and got caught in the Titan's jaws. His squad mates watched in horror as the monster swallowed him whole and walked away

"Where do you think you're going?!" screamed Eren in anger and charged at the abnormal.

"Yeager! Don't rush off on your own! Connor called after him.

The others went after Eren in order to assist him. Connor was about to join them when a huge shadow appeared over him. He barely got away in time so that he wouldn't be smashed he put some distance between him and the huge creature. The emerald-green teenager turned his head to look how his teammates were faring and to his horror he saw Mylius in the hands of a Titan, Eren lying in his own blood missing a leg, Mina was out cold with a Titan on its way to her and Armin frozen in fear a Titan approaching towards him as well. He hadn't seen Nac so he figured he had been crushed. Connor gritted his teeth in anger. There is no way he could save them all using only his 3DMG. 'I have no choice.' Concentrating, he felt the energy in his hand and he half clenched it, slowing down time. However that was not enough as the monster's teeth were very close to Mylius's head so he forced more energy until time stopped completely. He quickly disposed of the Titan in front of him and went to deal with the monsters holding Mina and Mylius. He was about to deal with the Titan that was heading towards Armin when pain ripped through his chest and forced him to collapse meters away from the blond boy, the spell was broken and time resumed his course. He watched hopelessly as the Titan grabbed the small boy and let him go down his throat when something unexpected happened. Eren managed to pull Armin out of the Titan's mouth, effectively making the blue-eyed teen snap out of his fear. Just as Armin was about to grab the brown-haired teen's hand the creature's jaw snapped shut, swallowing Eren. Armin let out a pained cry and the Connor felt himself being lifted into the air away from the creature.

"Connor, are you alright?" asked Mina

"Y-yeah," he said as he tried to get up, but was stopped by the black-haired girl.

"Don't move, you are in no condition to stand. What happened to you?"

"Got tired," he said and it wasn't a lie. He learned a long time ago that relying only on his powers for a long period of time or pushing himself to the limit was tiring and risky.

Mina didn't say a word, instead she pointed to the two boys and Connor cursed under his breath when he saw the haunted look in their eyes.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked fearfully

"You guys are going to climb over the wall, I'm going to find some other survivors," he lied. In truth he wanted to grab the Runes and Bone Charms that are hidden in the city.

"What?! No, it's too dangerous. Besides, you're wounded!" the girl practically yelled

"I'm fine," he told her and got up. "Now go!"

Mina wanted to protest further, but he gave her no chance as he flew away. She looked at the two traumatised boys and realized that they are sitting ducks and the only way to survive was to climb the wall. He went to Mylius and talked sweetly to him so that he could move like he did the first time.

An hour later Connor finished searching the west side of the town, finding only 5 runes and killing any Titan he encountered. He was about to search the east side when he heard a voice calling him. He turned and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Mikasa coming his way. 'Shit! Now what?' He couldn't look her in the eyes, feeling ashamed of himself. How was he going to tell her that he failed to protect her loved one? Would saying that he was sorry good enough? 'I had one job...I made one promise...and failed miserably. Why? Even with this power I still couldn't save everyone.'

"Where's Eren?" asked the oriental, snapping the teen out of his thoughts.

"Armin is fine, but Eren...I'm sorry..." he looked down, expecting a punch in the face, a break-down, but nothing came. He looked at her and the look in her eyes shocked him, he had never seen such emptiness. Without a word she took off, ignoring his callings, and so he followed after her.

The two ended up on a roof with the other trainees. Connor felt a bit annoyed when he saw Armin, Mina and Mylius among the teens.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to go back."

"We did go back, but we were order to return to the battlefield. They threaten to execute us if we refused to obey," Mina said with tears in her eyes.

'Bastards!' the teen thought angrily. "Don't worry, we're going to get out of this alive."

"And then what?" asked Mylius as he stared straight ahead. "Even if we survive this ordeal, the Titans will break all walls forcing us to go Underground. But that place can hold only so much people and I bet the government will send us to fight those monsters so that 'humanity can regain what they have lost' or some other bullshit like that. Today I have learned what our fate is: we have to die so that the ones in charge can live. There is no escaping it."

Connor looked at the teen with pity. 'He is just an ordinary person who had taste of the world's cruelty.' "Don't despair," said the emerald green-eyed teen and Mylius looked up to him. "As long there is life, there is hope. We _will_ defeat the Titans, I am sure of it. And even if you were to die, wouldn't rather die protecting those you love?"

The depressed teen looked at him in shock and he realized that Connor spoke the truth. Mylius cared deeply about his family and he would give his life for them.

"Connor!" yelled Marco as he approached the boy. "Thank the goddesses you're alive!"

"I'm a tough bastard to kill. Now, what's the situation?"

"We're low on gas. The ones you see here are those who managed to survive."

Before the teen had a chance to reply a cold, womanly voice called: "Marco. If we kill all Titans around the HQ we can replenish our gas supplies and climb the wall. Does that sound correct?"

"Yeah…But even if you and Conner are with us, there's just too many…"

"I can do it! I'm strong! Stronger than all of you! Extremely strong! I can kill all these Titans there! Even if I'm alone." Everyone was taken aback by Mikasa's speech. "You're either incompetent or you're spineless cowards. How pathetic! You can sit here and suck your finger. Yeah, do that!"

"Hey Mikasa! What are you saying?" a girl asked, obviously having a problem with being insulted. "You want to fight all by yourself? There is no way you can do that!"

"If I can't I'll just die. But if I win, I'll live. Unless I fight I cannot win," said the oriental girl calmly and left.

Connor smiled at Mikasa's speech. 'She's right. I cannot carry them all on my back. They need to stand up for themselves.' The chestnut-haired teen turned to the rest of the trainees "I guess we'll see each other in hell, you suckers!" he said and went after the raven-haired girl.

However following Mikasa was hard for him. 'She's moving too fast. That means she's using too much gas. Oh, boy! Now I get it: she wants to drown her sorrow in action and she thought she could do some good. Stupid girl!' The boy called her name, but she didn't respond. Looking back he saw that everyone was following them and he came close to the centre of the group.

"Armin! Mikasa is using too much gas and she'll run out soon. Be prepared to help and take Connie with you as support. Marco, Jean you guys tell everyone to keep an eye out for Abnormals."

The trainees advanced without any problems and they almost reached the HQ when they were forced to a stop when they encountered a group of Titans.

"What do we do Connor?" asked Marco

"We cannot take another route, we'll just lose gas and probably run into more Titans. We need to distract them so that we can move on."

A cried for help was heard below them and saw one trainee who ran out of gas. The Titans were upon him in a second and Connor realized how they were supposed to distract the monsters, however the realization made him feel sick. 'No! I'm not going to sacrifice anyone! I'll save them!'

"Reiner! As soon as the guy cleared the Titans you grab him. Jean! You take the lead. I'll buy time you time, get ready!"

Connor jumped at the Titan who was holding the poor teenager, narrowly avoiding the outstretched hands of the monsters and killed with a swing of his swords. He jumped from Titan to Titan in order to put some distance between him and the group of man-eating humanoids, killing a few. "Reiner, now!" he yelled and his teammate wasted no time in grabbing the helpless boy. Now with Titan's attention shifted to him, the group can safely move on. Seeing them go, Connor finished the fight quickly combing his blink with his 3DMG skills and he quickly caught up with the rest of the trainees safely inside the HQ. He quickly did a headcount and noticed to his relief that no one was missing. Suddenly a loud thud had been heard and he saw Jean standing over a scared trainee.

"Those bastards ambushed us! Do you have a clue how many died?!" he yelled

"The Titans invaded the supply depot! What could we have done?!" cried a girl who came to the fallen teen's side.

"It's your job to figure something out!"

"Jean, calm down. Yelling at them won't solve anything," Connor said and then turned towards the girl. "Where is the Garrison Captain?"

"He left. He said the he was need over the wall. We tried to stop him, but he threaten to kill us!

A scowl appeared on the chestnut haired teen's face. 'When I find that son of bitch I'll-'

"Take cover!" yelled Reiner.

The Titans punched through the room's wall and all cadets fled screaming expect Jean who stood in front of the Titans paralyzed with fear. Connor got himself between the frightened teen and the monsters. "RUN, YOU MORON!" roared Connor at the blond boy. Suddenly a giant fist hit the short haired Titan, throwing both humanoids away. "What the-" both boys exclaimed. Just then Mikasa, Connie and Armin burst through

"Mikasa!" exclaimed Jean feeling relief wash over him.

Connor just smirked but he felt the same way as Jean. "For a second I thought you were dead."

"We did it Armin!" said an enthusiastic Connie while slapping Armin's back, earning a small yelp from the smaller boy. "Your plan was a success! Everyone! That Titan is an abnormal that slaughters other Titans!" the grey eyed teen said while pointing towards the Rouge Titan. "It's not even interested in humans! If we play our card the right way we can all get out of here alive!"

"You'd rely on a Titan's help?" asked Jean, not believing what he was hearing and seeing

Connor turned his gaze on the Rogue Titan and watched how the 15 meter class Titan slaughter any Titans he encountered. "I don't see any reason why we shouldn't rely on its help. After all what choice do we have? Everyone let's go to the supply depot."

After Armin's successful plan everyone was able to refill their gas tanks and escape. Connor stood behind to see everyone off safely and to capture the Rogue Titan so that Hanji could study it. Assuming that everyone was gone he went on a roof in order to spot the Titan and he immediately became angry when he saw Armin, Mikasa, Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie and Jean.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he bellowed

"We need to capture that Titan in order to find out more about the Titans and turn the tide of this war," replied calmly Mikasa.

While he was impressed that they had the same idea, Connor didn't want them in harm's way more that is necessary. 'And today has been quite enough. Plus I can't use my powers with them around.'

"That's the Abnormal who ate Thomas," said Armin while pointing at one Titan.

At the sight of Thomas's murderer the Rogue Titan tore through his captors, charging at it. It bit into its neck, raising it above its head and Connor winced inwardly at the sound of broken ribs, then it threw it at other Titans. Jean muttered something sarcastic, but no one paid attention at him. The Rogue Titan gave a primal roar before collapsing. Then something strange happened: from within the Titan a man emerged, that man was Eren. Mikasa's heart skipped a beat and rushed at him to embrace him, to see if he was real. When she felt him in her arms she still couldn't believe so she listened to his heart. Relief washed over her when she heard it and Mikasa started to cry. Bertholdt took them to the nearest roof and the others gathered around them. Armin took hold of Eren's hand, murmuring something and crying. To say that Connor was shocked would be an understatement 'This just threw out of the window everything we knew about the Titans.'

"As if you knew a lot," came a silky voice that only Connor could hear that made his blood turn to ice. "My friend it has been awhile, but the time to chat has finally come. Once you win this battle we will have plenty of time to talk."


End file.
